Question

Find a company that you think has ethics, social responsibility, or environmentally sustainable polices that directly contribute to its competitive advantage. Be specific about how such policies contribute to the firm's competitive advantage. Include at least one reference. Be sure to perform an independent analysis; do not post an analysis done by someone else (i.e., a published article).

Answer 1

For the study purpose lets select Accenture, which was featured in the Forbes list of Most Ethical Company in 2017.

Ethics at Accenture: Recognized as world most ethical company by Ethisphere consecutively for last 9 years, Accenture conducts its business operations adhering to ethical compliance. With rising complexity of today’s business, along with legal and regulatory requirements, ethical consideration have also become very crucial. Therefore, having a well-defined code of business ethics help the people at Accenture to respond to critical situations with high order of ethics.

The code of business conduct at Accenture is organized into six fundamental behaviors. It applies to every associated with Accenture. Right from top management to lower rung employees, and third-party consultants to suppliers, all are also needed to comply with the code when working with Accenture.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Accenture: Accenture understand its responsibility towards not just towards its Employees or Shareholders, but also towards other Stakeholders like; Society and Environment. Accenture’s CSR activities are not limited by countries or any geographic boundaries.

Accenture is making a difference in the field of Education, Health, Skill development and Environment Sustainability. In the developing countries like India, its working hand to hand with various government initiatives and making them a grand success.

Competitive Advantage to Firm having ethics, social responsibility, or environmentally sustainable polices:

• To Employees: The employees feel a sense of achievement while working with Accenture who have high standard of ethics and contribute towards the society. They become motivated and take pride in working with the firm. For the firm it becomes very easy to attract good talent and retain them.
• To Clients: The clients also prefer to work with firms like Accenture having strong ethical values and working towards other Stakeholders to empower them. This helps in retaining the clients and engaging them into long term relationships.
• To Shareholders/Investors: Various studies have shown that the shareholders prefer to invest in the firms who are ethical and fulfill their responsibility towards society. With loyal shareholders, the firm has huge potential to expand and grow the business. Also, institutional investors would find stability and sense of security in working with this type of firm. So, arranging funds is never going to an issue.
• Third Party Consultants and Suppliers: For firm like Accenture, there is never a shortage of good third party consultants or suppliers as everyone finds longevity and future potential with a stable firm having ethics and CSR.